30. A Stop at Willoughby

1960 advertising executive Gart Williams is exasperated with his career. His overbearing boss lectures him about the "push-push-push" nature of the business. Williams dozes off on the train during his daily commute.

He wakes to find he is now alone in a stationary 19th-century railway car on a bright summer day instead of a snowy November evening. Looking out the window, he discovers that the train is in a town called Willoughby, and it is July 1888. He learns that this is a "peaceful, restful town, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure." Jerked awake into the real world, he asks the conductor about Willoughby; the conductor replies that there has never been such a station.

At home he drinks and explains to his wife that he has come to a breaking point with his career and life. She stops him and asks if he has wrecked his career. He tells her about his dream of Willoughby but she bemoans her "miserable tragic error" to have married such a man.

Williams again dozes off on the train and returns to Willoughby. As he is about to get off the train carrying his briefcase, the train begins to roll, returning him to the present. He promises himself to get off at Willoughby next time.

Experiencing a breakdown at work he calls his wife for help, but she dismisses him as hysterical. He again dozes on the train and finds himself in Willoughby. As the conductor warmly beckons him, Williams intentionally leaves his briefcase as he disembarks. The inhabitants welcome him by name and he tells them he is glad to be there and will join their idyllic life.

The swinging pendulum of the station clock fades into the swinging lantern of a railroad engineer, standing over Williams' body. The 1960 conductor explains that Williams "shouted something about Willoughby", before jumping from the train to his death. Williams' body is loaded onto a hearse, the back door of which closes to reveal the name of the funeral home: Willoughby & Son.